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House approves interstate compact to curb competitive state tax incentives
Summary
The House passed House Bill 270 to join an interstate compact aimed at curbing a ‘race to the bottom’ in offering targeted tax incentives; sponsor said 17 states have companion bills but none had enacted the compact; the measure passed 63-3 and will be transmitted to the Senate.
Representative Roberts moved passage of House Bill 270 on Feb. 25, a proposal to join an interstate compact intended to reduce competitive, targeted tax incentives that states use to attract businesses.
Roberts said the compact seeks to end a pattern where states bid against each other with large tax breaks that may not produce net public benefit. He described a trigger of 50 states for full compact activation and a state council to represent Utah on a national compact board. "The problem I'm trying to address here is something I've been frustrated with a long time...we end up in a race to the bottom competing with other states," Roberts said.
Members asked whether other states had enacted similar compacts. Roberts said roughly 17 states had filed companion bills but "nobody's passed it yet," stressing that the measure is part of a national momentum to standardize how incentives are offered and reviewed. Representatives noted examples where incentives became large public commitments and urged the compact as a check on that practice.
The House passed the bill 63-3; it will go to the Senate for further consideration.
